By Steven Blum

Mother-daughter entrepreneurs Jan and Amber have expanded their 16 -year-old business from cars to causes.

The core mission of their Costa Mesa studio is to help individuals, businesses, organizations and institutions honor, recognize and commemorate the people and occasions that are important to them.

With their small team of family members and experienced bow builders, the teams make huge bows for cars, Gold Star and Breast Cancer Loops, ribbon cutting and building bows, and just about anything you can imagine.

They love the business which gets them to step outside the day-today activity most people are so busy with and pause to enjoy a moment and make it memorable. There are many reasons to celebrate and if you can’t think of one, King Size Bows can.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?

It took many months for the new owners to learn the tricks of the trade, resources, processes, market and customers. Jan did all the talking the first year while Amber focused on new styles and possibilities. Division of duties came naturally, playing to each woman’s strengths and experience. The growth of the boutique business depends on their growing skills with tools, software, materials, techniques, vendors, equipment, online selling, shipping and handling. So many details that the hours speed by.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the King Size Bows story. Tell us more about the business.

You’ve no-doubt seen their work in the Lexus “December to Remember” commercial; atop a pony on a cruise ship for the California Lotto; throughout the Dolby Theater for America’s Got Talent Holiday Special; on buildings and lampposts throughout the US and Canada, as well as homes, retail stores and auto dealerships. Their unique boutique also ships internationally.

Their line includes “In-Stock” and “Custom” bows. In-stock bows are kept in inventory for shipping immediately; custom bows require time to create. Their classic red Signature Bow was created by the studio’s original owner in 2001, and is now available in red, royal blue, navy blue, silver, white, pink, black and gold. For $50 plus shipping, any vehicle, appliance, home or large gift will provoke delight in the recipient. There’s something about a big bow that shows deep appreciation and thought in gift-giving. The photogenic art pieces are must-have selfie shots to share on social media sites. Bows under 30 inches are made of die cut high quality paper or plastic.

Custom fabric bows are anywhere from 3 feet to 20 feet, depending on the style. For 16 years, King Size Bows has lived up to its name—fit for royalty and huge. Only a handful of businesses sell bows in the US, and most of those are imported and styles are limited. Very few make bows larger than 3 feet, and KSB’s quality and variety are difficult to match. More than half their orders are made to customer specifications. They sometimes make matching wrap to make an exhibit, building or car look like a present.

I guess you could say both bad and good luck have played a role in this business. Mother Jan’s business experience spans decades as a startup business and marketing consultant. King Size Bows was one of her clients. The founder of KSB was a serial entrepreneur and when she was ready for her next venture, Jan bought the bow business. Daughter Amber’s career with the Sheriff’s Department as a 911 Operator ended abruptly after a near-fatal car accident left her speechless. She has always been creative, making her prom dresses in high school, and had spent several years in retail and medical industries. Fortunately, she has recovered her voice with surgery and voice therapy, and is the driving force for the business expansion.

Pricing:

In-Stock Bows (designed by KSB and Made In America, and kept on hand) start at $19.99

Awareness Loops for causes, the military and health concerns start at $19.99 and up depending on size

PVC bows from 12 to inches range from $19.99 to $49.99, depending on size

Every year, these hallmarks of the holiday season float into our lives, wrapped in red velvet and good cheer, and we herald their arrival with songs, stop-action TV specials and elaborate ad campaigns.

But if the stories of Santa and Rudolph are stitched into our stockings – and the fabric of the holiday season — the genesis of the giant car bow is a bit more elusive. So we enlisted a few automotive elves to help us unfurl 10 little-known facts about giant car bows.

Lexus’ unforgettable ad campaign: In 1998, the luxury carmaker debuted the big bows as part of its “December to Remember” commercials, and no matter how implausible it seemed to get a $35,000 Lexus as a gift, the pure whimsy of loopy red bows plopped on top of car roofs captivated viewers. December has since become the best sales month for Lexus–in 2016, the luxury carmaker sold 41,182 vehicles, 10,000 more than its second highest month (August). The ads are also credited with helping transform December from one of the slowest times of year for auto sales to one of the most vibrant, replete with holiday closeout sales and Black Friday specials.

Big bows for showrooms and beyond: Lexus provides a few bows to each showroom, but to the surprise of some buyers they’re not included with the purchase of the car. (Handmade fabric bows can cost $600; high gloss paper or PVC bows start around $40.) Some Lexus dealers let buyers borrow the bows for the big reveal, and include that in negotiations. But as the popularity of car bows blossomed, dealerships beyond Lexus began using them in their holiday showrooms, and car buyers who wanted to keep the bows created even more demand.

The queen of King Size Bows: In 2000, Lynda King decided she wanted to surprise her daughter with her dream car, a VW Beetle, with a giant bow on top. But she couldn’t find a bow big enough, so she made one herself. After seeing her daughter’s reaction, it sparked a business idea. King Size Bows was born in her home in Costa Mesa, Calif. Dealers bought most of the bows at first, but in 2003, Lexus came calling and after appearing in the December to Remember campaign, King’s bow business boomed.

You get a bow, and you get a bow!: In 2004, Oprah Winfrey famously made 276 of her audience members’ “wildest dreams” come true, when she gave each of them a Pontiac G6 with a King Size Bow on top. Since then, giant bows have made nearly as many TV appearances as Oprah, popping up on daytimers like Ellen and Steve Harvey, game shows such as America’s Got Talent, The Price is Right, and Let’s Make a Deal, and prime-time hits like Modern Family, Empire, Bones and many more. Watch for a King Size Bow on an upcoming holiday episode of The Mayor. The big bows even earned a spoof on a Saturday Night Live. In a mock ad, Seth Meyers gets a brand new SUV from his wife (Amy Poehler), but he turns his nose up at it because there’s no oversized bow on top.

Rudolph the big bow maker: If Lynda King assumed the throne as the west coast queen of big bows, Michael Rudolph might well be the east coast godfather. His Car Bow Store sells nearly 25,000 bows per year, and is the leading manufacturer in the U.S. “It’s frantic right now,” Rudolph said from his Warminster, Pa., facility in late November. “About 75 to 80 percent of our business is this time of year. It’s mostly car dealerships that want them, and they wait till the last minute,” he said. “The Lexus commercials come out and everybody wants a bow.” Car Bow Store is a division of MBR Marketing, which sells supply items to the automotive industry, and its bows range from a 22-incher for $30.95 to a 36-inch velvet bow for $99.95. The company doesn’t supply Lexus with bows, but Rudolph said his team’s handiwork has been seen on Good Morning America, Nickelodeon, and at Hyundai and Kia dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada. They also sell a lot of bows to individuals. “We sell them every day of the year,” he said. “Graduation. Birthdays. You name it.”

Planes, trains, automobiles and tanks: Giving someone a new car with a big bow on top seems like the grandest of gestures – until you hear about some of King Size’s other bow-nanzas. The company, which was bought by Jan Kingaard and her daughter, Amber Hughes, in 2015, has made bows for planes, trains, buildings, billboards, even a tank. The company recently completed a 22-foot bow for a new building, and Hughes said it took a week and a half to make and cost $3,000. King Size regularly builds enormous bows for charitable causes and military homecomings, Hughes said, and they’ve even gotten requests for bows to wrap people. “It’s fun,” she said. “Everybody we work with is celebrating something. There’s never a bad day in the bow business.”

Big bows = silver lining: Ironically, Hughes got into the joy biz after a near-fatal car accident left her with severe facial injuries and no voice. She had to quit her job as a 911 dispatcher – “my voice was my livelihood” – and her mother, hoping to lift her spirits, suggested they buy King Size Bows from her friend, Lynda King. “My mom knew I had to find a new career path,” says Hughes, who recovered her voice after extensive speech therapy. “I’m very grateful,” said Hughes. “I definitely had angels on my side.”

Magnets and suction cups, oh my: How do you get a giant bow to stay in place? In the beginning, most manufacturers used magnets but the trend in recent years has been suction cups as auto manufacturers have shifted toward aluminum hoods and body panels, said Car Bow Store’s Rudolph. “The suction cup is the ideal choice for securing a car bow since it is effective with steel, aluminum and fiberglass hoods and is softer and more scratch-resistant than a magnetic base.”

Big bows, the DIY edition: Google “big car bows on Pinterest” and you’ll get nearly 18 million results. So while Car Bow Store and King Size Bows are the big kahunas in the market, plenty of people are taking to social media and YouTube to share their DIY secrets. If that’s a bit too ambitious for you, big bows are also available at Party City, Amazon and Michael’s for $10-$60.

Still dancing in December: Lexus began running its 2017 December to Remember ads in early November. All three TV spots feature a euphoric child dancing around a Lexus, King Size Bow perched on top. Then a key fob beeps, and we see it’s actually an adult letting out their “inner child” (can you blame them?), and we’re reminded of where this whole bow explosion started. Whether you call it crass commercialism, marketing genius, or childlike fantasy come to life, Lexus launched a bona fide holiday tradition with its big bow ads. And, yes, Virginia, people do give cars as gifts, according to Rudolph, who adds: “We frequently hear from our customers that the recipients are more excited about the bow than the car itself!”

Ever think about who has to make those giant bows you see in commercials and in new car showrooms? They’re the specialty of a company in California. They supply the trademark bows you see in Lexus commercials, but they’ve produced the festive knots for a dozen other manufacturers, too.

Holiday sales are a vital part of the profitability of automobile manufacturers. The most visible push automakers put on occurs from roughly the Thanksgiving holiday through Presidents Day in February. Almost every automaker’s and dealership’s marketing plan falls back heavily on one image: Their newest models with a huge red holiday bow on top. As it turns out, those holiday bows have an interesting backstory.

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Over 145 Americans-family, friends, neighbors and colleagues, are diagnosed every day. The disease kills more people than breast cancer in the United States. We must rewrite the future of pancreatic cancer. Take action now to bring hope to the pancreatic cancer community by donating, raising funds or spreading awareness that of the major cancers, pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate.

Support such groups as the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network who work for improving survival from pancreatic cancer by 2020.
Together, we can bring greater focus on the disease across the country, and rewrite the future of pancreatic cancer through:

More public awareness and visibility

Accelerated research

Increased funding for patient services for people battling pancreatic cancer

Clinical trials that match patient needs

Higher clinical trial enrollment rate

Doctors delivering best practices

Better detection tools and treatment options for patients

Year-round government advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill to ensure federal research funding as a national priority

Display purple this month and Wage Hope today in the fight against pancreatic cancer.

You don’t have to be a millionaire (yet) to ship lovely presents. Whether your gift is a pony with a custom 2-loop red bow, a home with a 4-loop door hanger, a retail display or ribbon cutting with multi-loop paper or fabric bow, we can add to the excitement of any occasion. Give us a call and tell us what you need. Our designers make everything in our Southern California studio from 12 inches to 20 feet for indoor or outdoor decoration.

Graduation Day is a day to celebrate with family, friends and classmates. It is the start of new beginnings. What better way to commemorate a big achievement than a big, King Size Bow? Top off any size gift with a Signature In-Stock bow, available in 7 color combinations t0 accentuate any cap and gown or party décor. We ship by FedEx Monday through Friday, so order now: 714.668.9688

Our King Size blue bow is on the Lowe’s Heroes cart of $200, 000 in materials and labor as part of Ellen DeGeneres’ biggest donation ever – $500, 000!

Detroit’s Spain Elementary-Middle School’s remarkable principal Ronald Alexander, teachers and students have earned the respect and attention of Ellen, Lowes, and Justin Bieber who are launching a nationwide campaign to lift up this deserving community. All Americans can make this a safe learning environment through a GoFundMe/spainschool, Pencils of Promise and Toolbox For Education.